Sails



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY BESSLING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

REEFING SAILS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,854, dated July 26, 1859.

To all whoml 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY BESSLING, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Method of Reeng Sails from the Decks of Vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specilication, in which- Figure l, is a front view of a ships topsail and part of the lower mast and top mast illustrating my invention representing the sail all spread. Fig. 2, is a back view of the same. Fig. 3, is a side view of the same. Fig. 4L, is a front view of a portion of the yard and the reeling apparatus. Fig. 5, is atop view of the same on a larger scale than the other figures. Fig. 6, is a perspective View of one of the stop pawls of the reefpendants.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention consists in extending the reef-points from the back of the sail up to the yard and connecting them to slides which are fitted to work .Tong the yard, and to which are attached the reef-pendants. The said slides being caused to move l0ngi tudinally by hauling on the reef-pendants are caused to draw up the reef-points and so to reef the sail.

My invention also consists in securing the reef by means of pawls applied to the yard to operate in combination with port-ions of the reef-pendants which are made of chain.

To enable others to apply my invention to use, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

A, is the lower mast; B, the top-mast; C, the lower yard; and D, the top-sail yard.

E, is the top-sail, secured to the two yards at its head and foot in the usual manner; and F, is the halyard applied in the usual manner for raising and lowering the yard D.

To prevent confusion of the parts in the drawing I have represented the sail with but one reef.

a, is the reef-band; and Z), b, are the reef points, secured to the sail at about the usual distances apart and extending upward at the back of the sail through separate holes in the jack-stay c, of the yard D.

d, d', are the slides to which the reefpoints are attached, two in number consisting each of a piece of light fiat bar iron of a length about equal to half the width of the head of the sail. These slides rest upon the jack-stay c. The reef-points a, a, may be attached to the said slides in any suitable and secure manner; those belonging to one half of the width of the sail being attached to one of said slides and those belonging to the other half to the other slide.

e, f, and e', f', are the two reef pendants, the parts e, e', of which, passing over sheaves g, g, (Figs. 1 and 5) in the jackstay connect their respective slides with the leeches of the sail at the ends of the reefband, and the parts f, f', attached to the other end of the slides passing over sheaves z., k, (Fig. 5) in the jack-stay, and thence down through guides or pulley blocks at tached to the round-top, below which they are connected with the reef-tackles (not shown). The sheaves 71 L, are in the opposite arms of the yard .to the reef-points that are connected with their respective reefpendants.

The operation of reeling is effected through the agency of the slides d, d', withn out sending a man aloft by merely letting go the halyards and hauling down the portions f, f', of the two reef-pendants by means of their connected reef-tackles which operation draws the slides (l, d, along the yard toward their respective sheaves lz., 71.', and by that means draws up all the reefpoints through the jackstay and along the top thereof, as shown in Fig. 4, till the bottom of the reef comes close up under the jack-stay leaving the reef hanging down loose in front of the portion of the sail below it as shown at Gr, in Fig. 8. The reef may be allowed to remain in this condition till it is convenient to send a man or boy aloft to secure its outer edges or leeches by suitable means which may be provided for the purpose.

The portions e, c', of the reef-pendants and the upper parts of the portions f, j", thereof which work over the sheaves g, g, and Iz, 71,', are represented in the drawing as being made of chain. This provides for the wear to which these portions of the pendants are subject, and in the case of the portions f, f', provides for the application of the pawls I, I, by which the reef is secured. These pawls are made each of a single piece of spring steel, having near one end a circular hole z', (Fig. 6) large enough for the chain to pass freely through, and having on link of the chain to be placed edgewise withit it. The other end of the pawl is secured v firmly to the bottom of the jack-stay in such a. position that when the part of the pawl containing the slit y', is close underthe ]ackstay the said slit will be in a position to receive a link of the chain and so will prevent the chain being drawn up through the Jackstay and hence will secure the reef when the latter is taken in. This kind of pawl d oes not however prevent the chain moving downward in reefing as such movement of the chain draws the pawl down away from the jack-stay and the movement of the pawl being in an arc brings the hole z', into the path of the chain and so permits the chain to work throughthe pawl. To provide for the liberation of the pawls for the purpose of letting the reef out of the sail, each pawl has attached a lanyard 7c, which extends downward to the deck; and by hauling down the pendant a little way and with it the lanyard, the pawl is drawn down away from the yard far enough for the chain to get out of the slit y', into the wide opening z', of the pawl; and by then letting go the pendant but still holding down the pawl by means of the lanyard7 the chain is allowed to run up through the jack-stay while the yard is hauled up by the halyard F.

It is hardly necessary to mention that each reef of the sail, when two or more reefs are used, as is almost invariably the case7 requires a separate pair of slides for its reef .points and a separate pair of reef-pendants.-

Two or more reefs may be taken in at once or each one singly.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The slides d, d', applied to work along the jack-stay or other suitable portion of the yard in combination with reefepoints eX- tended from the back of the sail up through the jack stay or yard and with the reef-pendantssubstantially as herein described, and without confining myself to the particular construction of the pawls I, I, I claim securing the reef by means of pawls applied to the yard to operate in combination portions of the reef pendants made of chain, substantially as herein described.

HENRY BESSLING.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, MIGHL. HUGHES. 

